Today, in the final matches of the group stage of the World Cup, the teams of Group H played their last matches, with Colombia winning the victory in the match against Senegal, advancing to the next stage of the tournament.
The only goal of the match, scored by Colombia, decided the outcome with a 1-0 victory, after which they won the matches in Group H and eliminated Senegal from further competition. Senegal exited the tournament very bitterly: having collected the same number of points as Japan, having an equal goal difference and having played each other to a draw, they did not advance to the next stage of the competition because they received more yellow cards than the Asian representatives.
The most talked-about incident in the first half occurred in the 17th minute. After Sadio Mane penetrated the penalty area and made contact with Colombian defender Davinson Sanchez, the referee awarded a penalty, while the VAR team advised him to review the incident. Upon review, the referee saw that the defender had touched the ball first and only then the opponent, so he reversed his decision and the penalty was not awarded.
Even after this incident, Senegal continued to attack more frequently, and Colombia lost James Rodriguez due to injury after half an hour of play.
At the end of the first half, neither team was able to create scoring opportunities and the score remained 0-0.
Colombia started the second half much more actively, launching more attacks on Senegal's side of the field. In the 65th minute, Luis Muriel attempted a long-range shot, but it was blocked by Kalidou Koulibaly, and shortly after a corner kick, Falcao failed to find the target.
Finally, Colombia's attacks paid off - after another corner kick, Yerry Mina scored a fantastic goal from the ground, putting his team ahead and sending Senegal to third place in the group, due to having received more yellow cards. In order to advance to the next stage, the Africans needed to score a goal, wait for Japan to concede, or receive three yellow cards.
The situation did not change in the remaining time of the match, so Senegal had to bid farewell to the championship.
Yerry Mina heads #COL into Round of 16, as they leap to top of Group H. #SENCOL
